January 27, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 26, 1426

ISLAMABAD, Jan 26: Pakistan and Mauritius have sorted out maximum clauses of the preferential trade agreement (PTA) which will be finalized in the next meeting.

An official announcement issued here on Thursday said that the draft PTA was discussed at length during the second joint working group (JWG) on Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation meeting held recently in Mauritius.

The PTA would lead to a free trade agreement in days to come to enhance bilateral trade between the two countries.

Mauritius has announced a 4-year strategy to become a duty free island in order to promote it as a regional hub of trade and investment. Pakistan is very keen to strengthen its economic profile in the Indian Ocean region. It could utilize the free port facility made available by the Mauritius government.

Pakistan’s exports to Mauritius increased to $42 million during the year 2004, from $27 million in 2003.

The first meeting of the JWG was held in Islamabad on May 4, 2005, whereby it was agreed that both sides would prepare a road-map envisaging a long-term strategy to further strengthen the existing trade and commercial relations.